We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please see policies for more information.
Sponsored by Shamrock Farms
This stuffed acorn squash is cheesy, filling, and full of Thanksgiving or Holiday flavors. It’s the perfect side dish for your holiday table and even works well re-heated for leftovers! It features rice, the perfect delicate texture of Shamrock Farms cottage cheese, a slight sweetness from the squash, with just a bit of crunch from toasted pecans. It also looks beautiful on the table which makes it fun to present.
Stuffed Acorn Squash holiday side dish Recipe
My teenagers and I have been coming up with so many new recipes but this might be one of our favorites because we were so surprised how much we loved it – definitely, more than we thought we would! It has great texture, flavors, and is pretty simple to make! Cottage Cheese might not be something you’d think of to put in a dish like this but it works perfectly. It ads a creamy cheesiness without taking over the flavors. Definitely use Shamrock Farms cottage cheese in this recipe because it gives the best texture & flavor!
I feel like the sage gives this that “holiday” flavor but I’d really enjoy this year-round. You can also get this recipe right on Shamrock Farms’ site!
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- cup Shamrock Farms® Cottage Cheese
- 2 Acorn Squash
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil + more for brushing
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup toasted pecans
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 420F
- Cut acorn squash in ½ and clean out seeds. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Place cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheet
- Bake for 30-50 min until the skin is soft when pressed with a fork
- Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil
- Sautee onions, celery, and garlic until soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes)
- Add sage, salt, thyme, oregano, and pepper and sautee for another minute or so
- Add butter and rice to the pan and stir for 3-5 minutes until hot
- Stir in the cottage cheese until incorporated and warm - remove from heat
- When the acorn squash are done, fill each one with ¼ of the rice mixture
- Top with cranberries and pecans
A couple of notes: to toast your own pecans just heat in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, it should take around 2 to 5 minutes.
Since we love visuals, here are photos of our recipe coming together so you have an idea of the steps.
We saved some and re-heated them the next day and still tasted great! Just save the cranberries and pecans until re-heated and put them on top right before you enjoy.
Shamrock Farms Coupon
We have LONG been fans of Shamrock Farms. Their cottage cheese is the only one we’ll buy! It just has a farm-fresh superior taste and they use the best ingredients. It’s crafted using a hands-on approach refined for three generations and you can definitely tell when you eat it.
Visit ShamrockFarms.net/coupons to save $1 on any two Shamrock products. You can also find this and other great recipe ideas and more information on where to buy. Look for Roxie on the bold new packaging along with Shamrock’s signature green lid in your dairy case.
